Hillary Clinton becomes first woman nominated for U.S. president by a major part

Supporters of Hillary Clinton cheer at the U.S. Democratic National Convention at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, the United States on July 26, 2016.

July 26, 2016

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PHILADELPHIA, the United States, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Hillary Clinton was formally anointed Democratic presidential candidate here on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to run for the White House on behalf of a major U.S. political party.

"Are we ready to make some history?" asked Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, secretary of the on-going Democratic National Convention (DNC) when a roll call vote by delegates began.

About one and half hour later, the 68-year-old former secretary of state, who enjoys near universal name recognition after almost four-decade public life, exceeded the 2,382-delegate threshold needed to clinch the nomination amid huge applause in the hall.

The tally included the overwhelming support by unpledged delegates or superdelegates for her. Superdelegates are party leaders who are free to vote at the party's convention.

However, her historic victory was overshadowed by the fallout of damaging leakage of internal emails revealing backroom bias against Clinton's rival Bernie Sanders during bitter primaries. The revelation sparked protests by thousands of Sanders supporters as the four-day convention kicked off here on Monday.